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Kav 300 affair
The Bus 300 affair ( ), also known as Kav 300 affair, was a 1984 incident in which Shin Bet members executed two Arab bus hijackers, immediately after the hostage crises incident ended and the two terrorists were captured. After the incident the Shin Bet members gave a false testimony on their involvement in the affair. The Israeli military censor blacked out coverage of the hijacking originally, but nevertheless, the publication of information regarding the affair in foreign press, and eventually in the Israeli media, led a public uproar which led many in the Israeli public to demand that the circumstances surrounding the deaths of terrorists would be investigated. In 1985 a senior Israeli army general Yitzhak Mordechai was acquitted of charges related to the deaths of the captured terrorists.David K. Shipler, "ARAB and JEW - Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land." 1986. ISBN 0-8129-1273-X. Page 90. Later, it emerged that members of the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service, had implicated the general, while concealing who gave the direct order that the prisoners be killed. In 1986 the Attorney General of Israel, Yitzhak Zamir, was forced to resign after he refused to call off an investigation into the Shin Bet's role in the affair.Gidi Weitz, 'Newly released papers reveal how Shin Bet tried to hide 'Bus 300' killings.' in Haaretz 27 September 2011 Shortly afterwards Avraham Shalom, head of the Shin Bet resigned and was given a full Presidential pardon for unspecified crimes, while pardons were granted to many involved before charges were laid. Following the scandal, the Landau Commission was set up to investigate Shin Bet procedures.David K. Shipler, "ARAB and JEW - Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land." 1986. ISBN 0-8129-1273-X. Page 90. President Chaim Herzog. Details of the incident Egged bus 300 hostage crisis On Thursday 12 April 1984, four armed Arab terrorists from the Gaza Strip reached Ashdod where they boarded, as paying passengers, an Egged Bus No. 300 en route from Tel Aviv to Ashkelon with 41The Palm Beach Post - Google News Archive Search passengers. The terrorists hijacked it shortly after it left the station at 7:30 pm. During the takeover one of bus passengers was severely injured. The terrorist squad stated that they were armed with knivesDavid K. Shipler, "ARAB and JEW - Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land." 1986. ISBN 0-8129-1273-X. Page 86. And a grenade according to this source. and a suitcase containing two anti-tank rounds which they threatened to explode. The militants forced the bus to change its direction and drive towards the Egyptian border. Shortly after the bus was hijacked, the terrorists released a pregnant woman from the bus south of Ashdod.Daily News - Google News Archive SearchThe Glasgow Herald - Google News Archive Search She hitchhiked to a gas station and from there alerted the authorities of the hijacking.Archives: Chicago Tribune As a result, Israeli military forces began chasing the bus.Ottawa Citizen - Google News Archive Search The bus, moving at 120 km/h, smashed through two primitive road blocks until Israeli soldiers fired at the bus tiresThe Pittsburgh Press - Google News Archive Search and successfully managed to disable the bus near the Arab camp from Deir el-Balah located in the Gaza Strip, only 10 miles north of the Egyptian border. When the bus stopped, some of the passengers managed to escape the bus through an open door. In the ensuing stand-off, members of the Israeli media began to gather at the scene. Also present were senior military officers and politicians. These included Chief of Staff Moshe Levi, Minister of Defence Moshe Arens, and the Director of the Israeli domestic intelligence service Shin Bet, Avraham Shalom. The hijackers, who were holding the bus passengers hostage, demanded the release of 500 Arab terrorists imprisoned in Israel and free passage to Egypt for themselves. The hijackers stated that they would not hesitate to blow up their explosive-laden suitcase and kill all the passengers on the bus. Takeover operation After lengthy negotiations, at around 7:00 am of April 13, a special force of Sayeret Matkal under the command of brigadier-general Yitzhak Mordechai stormed the bus while shooting at the hijackers through the vehicle's windows.Ottawa Citizen - Google News Archive Search During this takeover operation the soldiers were able to eliminate two of the terrorists, capture the two additional terrorists, and release all hostages except for one passenger – a 19-year-old female soldier named Irit Portuguese who was killed by the IDF forces fire during the takeover operation.http://www.haaretz.co.il/magazine/kav300/1.1483815 כך שברו בכירי השב"כ את קשר השתיקה סביב פרשת קו 300 Haaretz 28.9.11 Seven passengers were wounded during the course of the operation. Execution of two captured terrorists The other two terrorists were captured alive, bound and taken to a nearby field, where they were beaten by people who had gathered around them. Shin Bet chief Avraham Shalom, and the Shin Bet chief of operations Ehud Yatom, approached the bound terrorists. Before he left the site, Shalom ordered Yatom to execute the two terrorists. As a result, Yatom and And several members of the Shin Bet took the militants into a vehicle, and drove them to an isolated place, where the two were executed. The Israeli military censor blacked out coverage of the hijacking originally. As a result, initial reports published in Israel and worldwide claimed that all terrorists were killed during the takeover. Nevertheless, three days later the Israeli daily newspaper Hadashot quoted a report from The New York Times, thus bypassing the Israeli Military Censor, which stated that two of the terrorists were captured alive. A few days later the Hadashot newspaper published on its front page a photograph taken by Alex Libak, in which one of the terrorists was being held alive and fully conscious while taken off the bus. The publication of the photograph caused a public uproar and as a result many in the Israeli public demanded that the circumstances surrounding the deaths of terrorists would be investigated. Claim of responsibility In Damascus, Bassam Abu Sharif of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, claimed that his organisation was responsible for the attack. He said the hijackers demanded the release of 30 prisoners held at Nafha prison in Israel. Israeli sources dismissed these claims accusing Fatah of being responsible.The Times (London), 14 April 1984. Christopher Walker, Robert Fisk.David K. Shipler, "ARAB and JEW - Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land." 1986. ISBN 0-8129-1273-X. pages 86, 87. In Shipler's account the Jewish driver was threatened with a grenade. He managed to escape when the bus stopped and was badly beaten after being mistaken for a hijacker. Subsequent related events Moshe Arens, who sanctioned the operation, argued after the event that, despite casualties amongst the passengers, the operation was "absolutely necessary." He said: "It was a long and difficult night and we followed the policy that has been traditionally laid down by Israel that we do not give in to terrorist demands." At 8:00 am, the morning after the hijacking, IDF forces began blowing up the houses of the families of the four hijackers.Christopher Walker, The Times. 17 April 1984. "Israel could stage reprisals in Syria". Aftermath The first inquiry Just over a week after the hijacking David Shipler, New York Times correspondent in Israel, filed a report revealing that the daily newspaper Hadashot had a photograph, taken by Alex Levac,אלכס ליבק-Masters Of Photography - קבוצת הצילום של שלומי of one of the hijackers being led away in handcuffs. Their journalists had positively identified the man in the picture as Majdi Abu Jummaa, aged 18, one of the four dead. The story was re-published around the world.David Shipler, The Times. 21 April 1984. "Israel in dock over bus terrorist." (Full by-line: D.S., New York Times, Bani Suheila, Gaza.)Link to pictureAlex Levac,'Revisiting the photo that exposed a Shin Bet lie.' Haaretz, 28 April 2009 The story was broken in Israel on Sunday 22 April by Al HaMishmar of the Mapam party. In a lead story passed by the censor they quoted "authorized senior sources" as saying that there was no alternative to the establishment of a commission of inquiry into the deaths of the two hijackers.Christopher Walker, The Times. 23 April 1984. "Israeli army investigates deaths of bus hijackers." On 24 April David Shipler was summoned to the office of the director of the Government press office, Mordechai Dolinsky, and was "severely reprimanded." It was believed that his Israeli press credentials were not revoked only because he was leaving his post shortly anyway.Christopher Walker, The Times. 27 April 1984. "Israel reprimands US journalist." On 25 April the weekly HaOlam HaZeh (This World), which had appeared with blank spaces the week before, published on its front page a blurred picture of a man being led away. The editor of the magazine, Uri Avery, had overcome the censors opposition after threatening to take the case to the High Court. Yossi Klein, editor of Hadashot, confirmed to correspondents that the man in the picture was not Majdi Abu Jammaa.Christopher Walker, The Times. 26 April 1984. "Doubts raised on killing reinforced by photograph." On 27 April Hadeshot was ordered to stop publishing for four days. This punishment, which had not been applied to a Jewish publication for over fifteen years, was due to their reporting that Minister of Defence Arens had set up a committee of inquiry, headed by Reserve General Meir Zorea. This information had been released to the Editors Committee of Israel's major newspapers on condition that the information was not published. Hadeshot, owned by the publishers of the respected Ha'aretz newspaper, was not a member of the Editors Committee.Christopher Walker, The Times. 28 April 1984. "Israeli inquiry into bus hijackers, deaths." 30 April 1984. "Israeli censor suspends paper for reports on death of bus hijackers." Zorea's report was delivered in secret to the parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Security Committee on 29 May. Its findings were not made public but were said to have "stunned the security establishment." At the same time Hadashot refuted Moshe Arens statement that he had not been at the scene of the hijacking by claiming that their photographer had been standing beside him shortly before he took the picture of Majdi Abu Jammaa. Concerns were also being raised about a television interview that Arens had given shortly after the event when he said: "Whoever plans terrorist acts in Israel must know that he will not get out alive." The IDF Chief of Staff, Raphael Eitan, had made a similar statement: "Terrorists must know that they will not come out alive from such an operation."Moshe Brilliant, The Times. 30 May 1984. "Shamir calls Arab bus deaths a deviation." Eitan quote from Davar. Arens quoted in Times 28 April. The trial In 1985, Brigadier General Yitzhak Mordechai, who had led the storming of the bus, and eleven others were put on trial for the killing of the two prisoners. They were accused of being amongst a larger group who beat and kicked the prisoners to death. Witnesses described the General hitting the prisoners with a pistol. He was cleared of the charges, and the charges against the others dropped. In the spring of 1986 the deputy chief of Shin Bet, Reuven Hazak and two officials Rafi Malka and Peleg Raday, met Prime Minister Shimon Peres and accused their superior, Avraham Shalom, of having ordered the murders and coordinating the testimonies of witnesses in the case against General Mordechai. Peres refused to act on this information and the three officials were dismissed from the Shin Bet. They then gave evidence that led Attorney General Yitzhak Zamir to launch a criminal probe against the senior Shin Bet officials accused of covering up the killings. On hearing the evidence, Zamir opened a police investigation into Shin Bet actions and in particular the role of its Director. In May 1986 he was forced to resign amidst accusations of disregarding national security after refusing to end his investigations.Middle East International, issue 276, page 5. 30 May 1986. Peretz Kidron Zamir's resignation was reported in the international media and Israeli newspapers were able to bypass the Military Censor with revelations about the Shin Bet. It became public that Avraham Shalom was accused of ordering the killing of the two prisoners and organising an extensive cover-up which included implicating General Mordechai.David K. Shipler, "ARAB and JEW - Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land." 1986. ISBN 0-8129-1273-X. pages 89, 90.Middle East International, issue 277, pages 9 -10. 13 June 1986. Peretz Kidron In June 1986 a little known judge, Yosef Harish, took over as Attorney General and President Chaim Herzog issued a blanket pardon to Shalom and four other Shin Bet officers.Shipler, page 90.Amnesty International, "Israel and the Occupied Territories: The military justice system in the Occupied Territories: detention, interrogation and trial procedures." July 1991. AI Index: MDE 15/34/91. Page 43: "The affair" was closed when in 1986 the President of Israel pardoned 11 Shin Bet members involved in it. These pardons were challenged in the Supreme Court. During the appeal papers were revealed in which Shalom asserted that all his actions were "authorised and approved." This implicated the Prime Minister at the time of the killings - Yitzhak Shamir.Middle East International, issue 279, pages 8-10, 11 July 1986. Peretz Kidron.Shipler, page 90: "Shalom swore in an affidavit that his action had been approved by the political echelon." On 6 August 1986 the Supreme Court upheld the pardons, but Attorney General Harish promised there would be an investigation.Middle East International issue 281, page 6,8 August 1986. Peretz Kidron. Effects of the affair The affair had significantly damaged the Shin Bet's reputation and public image in Israel. It also led to a re-examination of censorship in Israel after it became evident that the censors had contributed to the cover-up of the affair. As part of the overall investigation of Shin Bet during the affair it was discovered that the organization routinely used physical force during interrogations which led to the establishment of the Landau Commission to investigate organization's interrogation and other procedures. According to Gideon Levi, the people who exposed the scandal were never honoured, and those who covered up the incident went on to prestigious careers.Gideon Levy, The Shin Bet scandal that never died, Haaretz, October 2, 2011. Ehud Yatom In 1996 retiring Shin Bet officer Ehud Yatom gave an interview to the daily Yediot Aharonot in which he is quoted as saying: "I smashed their skulls," on orders from Shin Bet head Avraham Shalom, and "I'm proud of everything I've done." Yatom said he put the men on stretchers into a van. "On the way I received an order from Avraham Shalom to kill the men, so I killed them."Brown, Derek. The Independent, "Shin Bet man 'proud of murdering two Arabs.'" 24 July 1996. Mr Yaton told Yediot Ahronoth "I am one of the few who came away from the affair with a healthy soul . . . I am proud of what I have done."La Gaurdia, Anton. The Daily Telegraph. "Justice minister's resignation adds to Netanyahu's troubles." 9 August 1996. "Ehud Yatom, admitted last week that he killed the men by bashing their skulls with rocks."Human Rights Watch world report 1997: Events of 1996,Human Rights Watch, 1996 p.293 "Only clean, moral hands in Shin Bet can do what is needed in a democratic state." From 2003 to 2006 Yatom was a Member of the Knesset. Popular culture Uri Barbash directed the Kav 300 mini series which was shown in 1997 on Israeli television. The series focused on the "jurisdicial struggle between the Israeli Attorney General and the Shabak head following the murder of two terrorists in captivity by the Shabak".Int'l Movie DataBase: "Kav 300" In 2011 Gidi Weitz directed "Alef Techasel Otam", a documentary movie about the affair which aired to strong review and much public interest on Channel 10. Notes Sources * Time: Israel Struggle At the Top, 1996 * NY Times: Israelis Voice New Weariness At Scandal-ridden Leaders, 1987 Category:Shabak Category:Military scandals Category:1984 in Israel Category:Terrorist incidents in 1984 Category:Attacks on buses by Palestinian militant groups Sabena ar:مسألة كاف 300 he:פרשת קו 300 ru:Дело о маршруте номер 300